Seven Takeaways from BYU's Season-Opening Win vs Villanova

No. 8 BYU basketball opened the 2025-26 campaign with a 71-66 win over Villanova that probably felt a little closer than most would have liked. BYU watched a 14-point second half lead slip away before closing strong on the back of true freshman superstar AJ Dybantsa. While this was just one game of a long season, here are seven things we learned from opening night of the Cougars' highly-anticipated season.

1. AJ Dybantsa is a BYU fans fever dream

Nov 3, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) during the second half against the Villanova Wildcats in the Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

If you want a fun exercise, go look up the rosters of some of the WCC era BYU basketball teams and then watch what AJ Dybantsa did against Villanova. Dybantsa put up an effortless 21 points and 6 boards, while sealing the game with 6 clutch-time points. With his length and athleticism, he never seems to be more than a step or two from scoring at the rim, and he looked much better as a defender than he showed in the scrimmages. This kid is as advertised, and the scariest part is, this is probably the worst that he will look all season.

2. Keba Keita was the MVP

Keba Keita is a man’s man

Putback yam & then swats a ball into the mezzanine on the other end… sheeeeshpic.twitter.com/rDETnE0fS4
— Ryan Hammer🔨 (@ryanhammer09) November 4, 2025

Imagine showing this sequence of Keba Keita to yourself eight years ago. Now imagine telling yourself that that guy is probably the fourth best player on the team. Keba’s impact was felt both in and out of the box score. The 6’8 big man finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal, but it was the way he altered shots and his high IQ screening that sealed the game for BYU late. On a team with a future top five pick, Keba Keita looked like the most freakishly athletic player on the floor, and BYU probably would not have won without him.

3. The bones of this offense are solid

Here are the three that sealed the game. Combine this physicality from Keita with the downhill ability of AJ and Rob and you feast from the rim until the defense adjusts https://t.co/Gx6NptkGfj pic.twitter.com/aSNHNL5iKX
— Yze Guy (@yze_guy) November 4, 2025

While BYU only scored 71 points, the process of the offense was excellent. The Cougs got to the paint whenever they wanted with 76% of their points coming in the paint or at the line. The only thing that went wrong is that they just didn’t make shots from close range, shooting 42.8% from two. BYU finished 5th nationally in 2 point percentage last season (58.6%) and has 3 of the most talented scorers in the country on the roster. Odds are that Monday's shooting was an outlier. Most importantly? Four turnovers. If BYU continues to take care of the basketball and get good looks at the rim, tonight's game is going to age into an outlier.

4. BYU doesn’t have the depth that they did last season

BYU fans were spoiled last year that the Cougs experienced almost zero drop-off when they went to the bench. That might not be the case this year. BYU played just 8 players at least 12 minutes and got only 7 combined points from its bench, compared to the 37.7 bench points per game last season. This team will be much more top heavy this season relative to last season, but that’s ok when the top weighs about 8,000 pounds with the talent in the starting lineup.

5. Kevin Young's toughest job this season will be determining where Richie Saunders fits in this offense

Richie did not look like himself against Villanova. While he was reportedly dealing with an illness, he didn’t look like himself in either of the scrimmages either. It’s clear that it will take some tinkering from Kevin Young to determine how to leverage Saunder's talents as a scorer while also sharing the basketball with two incredibly high-usage players in Rob Wright and AJ Dybantsa. Like last season, it will probably take some time before roles are more clearly defined on this team, but it’s better to figure that out in a win.

6. BYU’s defense will be much improved

This might be a stretch to say after one game, but BYU is going to be much better on defense this season than they were a year ago. Whenever BYU needed a stop. They got one. And they didn't even make it look that hard. Villanova shot just over 35% from the floor and 28.6% from three while BYU forced 5 blocks and 11 turnovers. BYU’s greatest flaw last season was they were forced to go under on screens because they were not athletic enough to defend the pick and roll. This team clearly does not have that issue. Between Keita, Dybantsa, Mboup, and Kennard Davis, this could very likely be the most physically gifted defense BYU has ever had.

7. What a time to be alive

Nov 3, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; BYU Cougars center Keba Keita (13) dunks against the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

In football terms, this win would be like BYU defeating Clemson in week one of the college football season. While Villanova has been down the last few seasons, it’s still a program that won 2 national championships in the last 10 years. BYU beat them by five and the win honestly felt like a disappointment. While Villanova’s true quality is unknown, this will certainly be borderline Quad 1 or Quad 2 win for BYU come tournament selection time in March. BYU probably played their "C" game against a top 50 team and the outcome never felt in question. If that truly is the floor of this BYU team, this season will be a true joy to watch.